We Can’t Afford It

I’m vacation sick. Usually I’m anxious, and a bit relieved, to come home. But I am physically sad about not being in Pismo. We talked the whole week about living there (we do this at almost every place we visit that’s not LA) and of course the question of how we make our livings is the main obstacle. We’re both clear that we desire to live in less city, more community, better schools, lower cost of living, la la la.

Having a young child who is taking the world in more and more each day really ups the ante on the moving business for me. Ian is friendly. He says hello and goodbye to most every human and animal. It breaks my heart to watch him do this multiple times a day to LA folk who are too tied into their own whatever to return a toddler’s greeting. I don’t want him to grow up amongst self-possessed, self-important LAers (I don’t know what else to call them and I’ve never encountered more of this type ANYWHERE else, be it city or town or country). I don’t want him to drown out the world and live half his life in traffic and the other half in parks with more nannies than parents.

This t-shirt gave me pause (and I want one). It’s true, and it’s not just about money. Can we afford to live somewhere with no soul? Can we afford to live somewhere that costs one million dollars for 2 bedrooms and 1 bath and we’ll never know our neighbors, because we’re too busy working, and so are they? Can we afford to raise our child in a place where we have to get in our car to play on the grass?